Summer's Christmas Cookies
by mimimadrox
Summary: Ruby wants to bake her mom's special Christmas cookies for her friends, but realizes that she's missing a key ingredient. Since all the nearby shops are closed for the holiday, she sadly decides that she'll just have to bake them after Christmas. Jaune hates to see her sad on Christmas, so he decides to brave the cold weather and go out to get the needed ingredient for her.


**Based off of this prompt:** _A is trying to bake their family's traditional Christmas cookies, but realize they're missing a crucial ingredient. All the stores nearby are closed for the holiday, so they sadly decide they'll just have to make them AFTER Christmas. B hates seeing A like this, so they decide to go out and search for any store that's still open so they can buy the missing ingredient. Bonus points if it's freezing cold/ snowing hard outside._ **(found at otpprompts . tumblr . com) _  
_**

 **Another Lancaster fic! I still don't ship it, but I couldn't NOT write that prompt, y'know? It was too cute and it just seemed so fitting for this pairing. So, here it is!**

 **Merry Christmas, everyone! I hope you enjoy~**

* * *

Ruby hummed as she gathered the ingredient needed to bake her mom's special Christmas cookies. It had been Summer Rose's tradition to make them every year on Christmas Eve.

After she died, Ruby waited until she was old enough, then learned how to bake so she could take up the tradition in her mother's memory-she wasn't going to allow it to just fade away. Especially since the cookies were really good.

Ruby was currently in the kitchen of a small inn that she and the rest of team RNJR were staying at. The staff had been nice enough to allow her to use it, as long as she didn't make too much of a mess and cleaned up after she was finished.

It was already Christmas Eve, and they still hadn't reached Mistral. It made Ruby sad that she wasn't at home for the holiday-she didn't expect to be gone this long-but it couldn't be helped.

"Okay!" Ruby chirped as she finished spreading the ingredients out on the counter. She stepped back and pulled the ingredient list out of her pocket, unfolding it so she could read it. She glanced up at the counter as she checked each ingredient off of the list. "Flour, eggs, sugar…"

Here, she paused. She squinted at the counter, searching for the bag of sugar. Her heart dropped when she didn't find it. The list floated down to the floor as Ruby activated her semblance and tore through the kitchen, searching frantically for the sugar.

Once she'd searched every cabinet, every drawer, every crack in the wall, she finally stopped. She was exhausted and disheartened; she couldn't find the sugar anywhere. And to make matters worse, during her panicked search, she had knocked over the open bag of flour and the carton of eggs. Flour and eggs white had spilled out across the marble floor.

If it weren't for the fact that all of the stores nearby were closed for the holiday, Ruby would have hurried out and bought the sugar (and replaced the ruined ingredients).

Tears welled up in her silver eyes, blurring the mess in front of her. _I guess I'll have to make them after Christmas._ She clenched her fists and dropped her head, squeezing her eyes shut as the tears dripped from her face and hit the floor. _I'm sorry, Mom._

"Ruby? What's wrong?"

Ruby looked up, startled. Jaune stood in the kitchen doorway, staring at her with a concerned expression. Then he noticed the mess behind her and his eyes widened in surprise. "Whoa, what happened in here?"

Ruby sniffled and wiped the tears from her cheeks. "I was just- I was trying to make my mom's Christmas cookies and-" She broke down, burying her face in her hands as she sobbed.

Jaune hurried over to her and pulled her close, wrapping his arms around her. He held her as she pressed her face against his chest and cried. Her voice came out muffled against the front of his hoodie. "I was trying to find the sugar, but there isn't any, and then I spilled the flour and the eggs broke and-"

"Hey, calm down," Jaune's voice was gentle. He stroked her hair, and she fell quiet. "Take a deep breath and tell me what happened."

Ruby did what he said, sucking in a deep breath and then letting it out. A bit calmer now, she explained the situation.

Jaune listened in silence until she was finished. Then, he asked, "What's wrong with making them after Christmas?"

"You don't get it," Ruby pulled away from him. "My mom always made them every year on Christmas Eve. It was her tradition. Once I was old enough to bake, I decided that I would do it for her, continue the tradition in her memory. So every year, on Christmas Eve, I bake her special cookies. And now…" She turned and looked at the mess on the floor. "It was bad enough that this place doesn't have any sugar, now we don't have any flour or eggs either. I ruined everything." Fresh tears spilled from her eyes and ran down her cheeks.

"Oh," Was all Jaune could think to say. Now he understood. This tradition was more than just a tradition to Ruby. It was another way to keep her mother's memory alive and strong, and now she had to break that tradition because she didn't have the necessary ingredients.

Ruby sniffed and wiped the tears from her face. "I should clean up this mess before we get kicked out," She turned away to begin looking for a broom. "I don't want to ruin that, too."

It twisted Jaune's heart to see her so sad, especially on Christmas Eve, of all nights. He let out a sigh and looked down at the mess on the floor, his eyes catching sight of a piece of paper just a few inches away from his foot. He bent to pick it up.

It was the ingredient list for Ruby's cookies. The instructions on how to make them were written just below that. Jaune quickly looked it over, then glanced up at the ingredients on that still sat on the counter. Sugar, flour and eggs were the only items that were missing.

Jaune folded up the list and tucked it into his pocket. He walked out of the kitchen and up to the room he shared with his teammates, where Nora and Ren were talking quietly by the window. They paused and looked up as he entered.

He ignored them and grabbed his armor, putting it on and securing it before grabbing his weapon, too. Ren and Nora exchanged a look before Ren asked, "Jaune, what are you doing?"

"I'm going out for awhile." Jaune replied.

"Alone?" Nora asked, her expression worried.

"I'm not going very far," Jaune responded, then added quietly, "I hope."

"Where are you going?" Ren asked.

"To look for a store."

"Jaune, it's Christmas Eve," Nora said. "Everything is closed."

"There's got to be at least one store that's open," Jaune argued. "There has to be. It's not very late yet."

"Why are you looking for a store?" Ren asked. "What do you need? Can't it wait until after Christmas?"

"Ruby was going to make her special Christmas cookies. It used to be her mom's tradition, and it means a lot to her. But she's missing sugar, flour and eggs."

"Can't she just wait until after Christmas to make them?"

"You don't understand-you didn't see her face," It made Jaune's heart ache just picturing it. "It was her mom's tradition and she feels like she ruined it."

The two were quiet for a moment. They exchanged another look, then Nora turned to the window and pulled the curtains back. "But, Jaune… There's a blizzard."

On the other side of the glass, a blanket of snow covered the ground. Snowflakes fell fast and thick from the sky, the harsh wind making them blow at an almost horizontal angle.

Jaune gulped and stammered out an, "O-oh, boy."

"Do you still want to go?" Ren asked.

He didn't, but then the image of Ruby crying against his chest popped into his head, and he decided that he didn't have a choice. Whether he wanted to go or not, he had to. For her.

"It doesn't matter," He answered over his shoulder as he turned to leave the room. "No one deserves to be sad on Christmas. Least of all Ruby."

"Jaune, wait-" Nora called out, but he ignored her and walked back downstairs. As he passed by the kitchen, he glanced in and saw Ruby sitting on the floor, her knees covered in flour. The broom sat across her lap and she was crying.

The sight strengthened his resolve, and he threw open the front door and marched out into the snow. The wind blew at him cruelly, almost knocking him over. Wrapping his arms around himself, he pushed through the storm, his eyes searching any nearby buildings for lights. But he could barely see five feet in front of him.

He could hear nothing but the wind in his ears, could feel nothing but the cold wind nipping at every inch of uncovered flesh. It stung.

By the time he finally came across a building with all its lights on, he had no idea how long he had been walking for-or how far. He didn't even know if he was in the same town.

He stumbled through the snow and made it to the front door, throwing it open and rushing inside. Heated air kissed his skin and melted the snowflakes that clung to him. He let out a breath of relief.

"Are you alright, son?" An older man with dark skin had seen him enter and walked over to him, a concerned look on his bearded face.

"Yeah," Jaune replied, shivering. "It's just a little cold out there."

The man snorted. "A little?" He glanced out of the storefront window and shook his head, then turned back to Jaune. "What can I do you for, kid? What brought you to my store on Christmas Eve?"

"I just need to buy a few things," Jaune replied, then asked hopefully, "This place is still open, right?"

The man shook his head. "Just closed a few minutes ago. I was just getting ready to lock up for the night when you came rushing in."

Jaune's face fell. "Oh." Now what was he going to do? He didn't want to go back to Ruby without the ingredients-he couldn't stand the thought of seeing her so depressed. _I guess I'll just have to keep looking, even if it takes me all night._

The man studied Jaune for a moment, then said, "Where are you comin' from, kid?"

"My friends and I are travelling to Mistral," Jaune answered. "We're staying at an inn somewhere nearby. Well, I hope it's nearby anyway; I couldn't really tell where I was going through all the snow…"

"Hmm," The man rubbed his chin and thought for another moment before speaking again. "Look, I'll tell ya what. Since you came all this way, I'll re-open the store for a few minutes. Grab what you need and meet me at the front counter to pay."

Jaune brightened. "R-Really? Thank you, sir!"

The man nodded and offered a kind smile, then turned and went to wait by the register.

Jaune hurried to grab the ingredients. Along the way, he spotted some Christmas cookie cutters, shaped like Christmas Trees, gingerbread men, snowflakes, candy canes, etc. He grabbed a few of each and made his way back to the front to pay.

After the man had put everything in a bag and Jaune had paid, he thanked him again and bid farewell. He braced himself before opening the door, then walked back out into the storm. He hugged the grocery bag to his chest, squinting his eyes as he looked around. It wasn't any use-he couldn't see anything but snow and the footprints he might have made on his way here had already been covered.

With a sigh, he started to walk in the direction he thought he came from. He'd been walking for a few minutes when he heard a muffled voice call out his name.

He paused and looked around, but he couldn't see anyone and he couldn't tell which direction the voice had come from. "Hello?" He called out, but got no response. He shook his head; _It must have been the wind._

He started walking again. Like before, a few minutes passed, and then he heard the muffled voice call out his name again. This time, it was closer. Once again, he stopped and looked around, but couldn't see anyone. And despite the voice being a little closer this time, he still couldn't tell where it had come from. At least he was sure now that it wasn't the wind.

He strained his ears and listened, struggling to hear past the roar of the wind. The voice came again, a little closer. And then again, closer still. And then, through the snow, a figure faded into view several feet away. The figure called out, and this time, Jaune could recognize the voice.

Ren.

"Jaune!" He called out again.

"Ren!" Jaune called back and the figure paused to look around as Jaune had done. Jaune would have run toward the other boy if he could, but the snow was wrapped around his ankles-if he ran, he would trip and faceplant in the snow. So instead, he pushed through as fast as he could in Ren's direction.

Ren eventually noticed him and started towards him. "There you are," Ren said as he got closer. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Jaune said, then held up the grocery bag proudly. "I got 'em."

Ren smiled. "Good. Then let's get back to the inn."

"But wait, what are you doing here?"

The two walked side-by-side as Ren explained. "I was worried you might get lost," He said. "Or… worse. So I decided to follow you. Nora stayed behind to help Ruby clean the kitchen."

"Oh," There was a brief moment of pause before Jaune asked, "How is she?"

"She's putting on a brave face," Ren answered. "She said she doesn't want to ruin Christmas for us by being sad."

Jaune sighed and shook his head. _Oh, Ruby._

They made it back to the inn, and hurried to get out of the cold.

"You're back!" Nora called joyously from the kitchen, then skipped out to meet them.

Ruby followed after Nora, a confused expression on her face. "'Back'? Where did you go?"

Jaune grinned brightly and held out the grocery bag. "Merry Christmas, Ruby."

Ruby took the bag and opened it, peering in. When she saw what was inside, her expression changed. Her silver eyes lit up, her small lips turning up into a wide smile. She looked up at Jaune in surprise. "But how? I thought all the stores were closed."

Jaune shrugged. "I got lucky."

Ruby threw her arms around him and hugged him tightly. "Thank you so much, Jaune! I'm going to go get started!" She hurried back to the kitchen with a hop in her step.

Jaune watched her go with a soft smile. Ren and Nora exchanged another look, then turned and went back upstairs to their room.


End file.
